CONSTITUENT

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does constituent mean? 

• CONSTITUENT (noun)
  The noun CONSTITUENT has 5 senses:

1. an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system

2. a member of a constituency; a citizen who is represented in a government by officials for whom he or she votes

3. something determined in relation to something that includes it

4. (grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger grammatical construction

5. an abstract part of something

  Familiarity information: CONSTITUENT used as a noun is common.

• CONSTITUENT (adjective)
  The adjective CONSTITUENT has 1 sense:

1. constitutional in the structure of something (especially your physical makeup)

  Familiarity information: CONSTITUENT used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONSTITUENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

component; constituent; element

Context example:

a component or constituent element of a system

Hypernyms ("constituent" is a kind of...):

part; portion (something less than the whole of a human artifact)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constituent"):

add-on; addition; improver (a component that is added to something to improve it)

accessory; add-on; appurtenance; supplement (a supplementary component that improves capability)

spark gap (a component of an ignition system; consists of two shaped electrodes and the space between them)

spare; spare part (an extra component of a machine or other apparatus)

retrofit (a component or accessory added to something after it has been manufactured)

pel; picture element; pixel ((computer science) the smallest discrete component of an image or picture on a CRT screen (usually a colored dot))

module (a self-contained component (unit or item) that is used in combination with other components)

making ((usually plural) the components needed for making or doing something)

landside (component consisting of a side piece opposite the moldboard)

ingredient (a component of a mixture or compound)

heating element (the component of a heater or range that transforms fuel or electricity into heat)

computer hardware; hardware ((computer science) the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components making up a computer system)

crystal (a crystalline element used as a component in various electronic devices)

auto part; car part (a component of an automobile)

audio (the sound elements of television)

input (a component of production; something that goes into the production of output)

Derivation:

constitute (to compose or represent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A member of a constituency; a citizen who is represented in a government by officials for whom he or she votes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

needs continued support by constituents to be re-elected

Hypernyms ("constituent" is a kind of...):

elector; voter (a citizen who has a legal right to vote)

Holonyms ("constituent" is a member of...):

constituency (the body of voters who elect a representative for their area)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Something determined in relation to something that includes it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

component; component part; constituent; part; portion

Context example:

the animal constituent of plankton

Hypernyms ("constituent" is a kind of...):

relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constituent"):

substance (the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists)

language unit; linguistic unit (one of the natural units into which linguistic messages can be analyzed)

item; point (a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list)

butt (the part of a plant from which the roots spring or the part of a stalk or trunk nearest the roots)

base; basis (the most important or necessary part of something)

detail; item; particular (a small part that can be considered separately from the whole)

unit (an individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole)

member (anything that belongs to a set or class)

balance; remainder; residual; residue; residuum; rest (something left after other parts have been taken away)

subpart (a part of a part)

Holonyms ("constituent" is a part of...):

meronymy; part to whole relation (the semantic relation that holds between a part and the whole)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger grammatical construction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

constituent; grammatical constituent

Hypernyms ("constituent" is a kind of...):

syntagm; syntagma (a syntactic string of words that forms a part of some larger syntactic unit)

Domain category:

grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constituent"):

subject ((grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated)

object ((grammar) a constituent that is acted upon)

ablative absolute (a constituent in Latin grammar; a noun and its modifier can function as a sentence modifier)

immediate constituent (a constituent of a sentence at the first step in an analysis: e.g., subject and predicate)

construction; expression; grammatical construction (a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit)

misconstruction (an ungrammatical constituent)

term (one of the substantive phrases in a logical proposition)

Holonyms ("constituent" is a part of...):

sentence (a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An abstract part of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

component; constituent; element; factor; ingredient

Context example:

humor: an effective ingredient of a speech

Hypernyms ("constituent" is a kind of...):

division; part; section (one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constituent"):

point (a geometric element that has position but no extension)

plot element (a component or element of the plot of a story)

be-all and end-all; be all and end all (the essential factor; the all-important element; the supreme aim)

• CONSTITUENT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Constitutional in the structure of something (especially your physical makeup)

Synonyms:

constituent; constitutional; constitutive; organic

Similar:

essential (basic and fundamental)

Derivation:

constitute (form or compose)

 Context examples 

The diammonium salt of glycyrrhizin and the active constituent in the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Chinese liquorice or Gan-Cao) with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties.

(Diammonium Glycyrrhizinate, NCI Thesaurus)

A class of food constituents, also known as fats and oils, that serve as a source of energy and essential fatty acids in animals.

(Dietary Lipid, NCI Thesaurus)

A solution of essential constituents of a complex material; a substance removed from another substance.

(Extract, NCI Thesaurus)

Fatty acids are a major constituent in all fats and can be either saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated.

(Fatty acid, NCI Thesaurus)

Major constituent of the cytoskeleton found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells.

(Cytoskeletal Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

Any process that takes place on the cellular level, and which results in the assembly or disassembly of cytoskeletal structures or the arrangement of their constituent parts.

(Cytoskeletal Process, NCI Thesaurus)

The way in which something is made, especially in terms of its different parts; its constituents.

(Composition, NCI Thesaurus)

A unit of volume fraction expressed as a volume of the constituent in cubic meters per the volume of the system represented in cubic meters.

(Cubic Meter per Cubic Meter, NCI Thesaurus)

The family represents the principal constituent of epidermis, hair, nails, horny tissues, and the organic matrix of tooth enamel.

(Cytokeratin, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

As constituents of the cytoskeleton, Cytoskeletal Proteins form a flexible cellular framework that provides attachment points for organelles and formed bodies and makes communication between cell parts possible.

(Cytoskeletal Gene, NCI Thesaurus)